Clam ping-bracket



(No Model.)

T. THORNi 'GLAMPING BRACKET. No. 334,825. Patented Jan. 26, 1886.

N. PETERS, Phnw blhagmphnr. Washington. D. c.

NllTED rn'rns ATENT rrrcn.

THEODORE THORN, OF ST. CLAIR, PENNSYLVANIA.

CLAll/IPING-BRACKET.

QaPECElE'ICA'lIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,825, dated January 26, 1886.

Application filed November 25, 1885. Serial No. 183,957.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it-known that I, THEODORE THORN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Clair, in the county of Schuylkill, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clamping-Brackets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawlngs.

My invention has relation to improvements in clampingbrackets for scaffolds; and the novelty consists in the peculiar construction, combination, and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter fully set forth.

Heretofore it has been customary to construct scaffolds for plasterers and masons use with nails, screws, &c., which injure the wood or material, and in some cases are unsafe when particular care has not been taken to properly arrange the timber and drive the nails, thus frequently endangering the lives of the workmen, beside rendering the scaffold difficult and tedious of construction and to take apart for removal or transportation.

My invention has for its object to overcome the abovenamed objections, and to provide a clamp orbracket which shall entirely dispense with the use of nails, which shall be held in place on the uprights by frictional contact therewith, which shall be capable of easy and quick application to and removal from the uprights, which shall provide convenient means for securing the meeting or abutting ends of the uprights together without danger of becoming detached, and to provide means which shall be simple, strong, and durable in construction, thoroughly effective and positive in action, and cheap of manufacture.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a scaffold, showing my improvement applied thereto. Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged detail views in side elevation of the clamping-bracket in position on one of (No model.)

the proper point of elevation, and adapted to receive and support one end of the crossbar B.

The clamping-bracket O is made in two sections, D E, each of which is made or formed in one piece, and the sections are detachably bolted together for the purpose of being readily and quickly secured to and removed from the upright A, it being also adjustable vertically thereon, as will presently appear.

Each section of the bracket comprises a vertical arm, f, an upper and lower horizontal clamping arm, 9 h, respectively arranged at right angles thereto, and two horizontal branch arms, i j, arranged at right angles to each other and the arms 9 h, the arms 9 of the upper horizontal arms, 9, having vertical arms k. The branch arms j of the upper and lower clamping-arms, g h, are bolted together by means of through bolts Z, and the vertical arms f are secured together by a cross-bolt, l, passing through openings therein. The arms j and 7c of the upper horizontal clamping-arms, g, of the clamp-section extend outwardly and at right angles to the arms f g h and the upright to which the device is applied, and said arms provide a bracket on which one end of the cross-bar B rests, and is held therein by means of a wedge, F, if it is found necessary to employ one on account of the difference in sizes between the cross-bar and bracket-arm, as will be very readily understood.

To apply my improved bracket to an upright, A, it is either slipped over the upper end thereof when it is practicable to do so and within the convenient reach of the operator, or the sections of the bracket are taken apart and clamped around the post or upright, after which the bolts 1 and Z are passed through their respective arms of the bracket to secure the sections thereof together. A wedge or key, G, is then driven in between the vertical arms f of the bracket and the post A transversely across the same, whereby the arms of the bracket are caused to bind and bear firmly against the vertical faces of the upright to hold the bracket thereon and provide a support for the ends of the crossbars B. The bracket is thus secured very firmly on the post and held by frictional contact between the surfaces without employing nails or other fastening devices, and the bracket can be very readily removed or detached from the upright for the purpose of permitting the scaffold to be taken apart to transport the same.

The bracket can be adjusted vertically and very readily secured at any point of elevation on the upright, and by its use a scaffold can be very quickly and thoroughly put together and taken apart.

It will be understood that each upright A is provided with a clamping-bracket, and the uprights may be arranged and braced in different ways at present in use in lieu of the arrangement shown'in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the invention in the present instance being confined to the clamping-bracket.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings I have shown my improved clamping-bracket adapted to couple the meeting ends of the upright posts together. In said figure, A A represent the upper and lower sections of the post, which have squared ends which abut together; and O, the clamping-bracket the upper and lower horizontal arms, 9 h, of which bear against the post-sections A A respectiyely. A plate, I, is fitted over the joint between the meeting ends of the posts A A and the branch arms t j of the clamping-bracket, as shown, and the wedge or key G is then driven in between the post on the opposite vertical face thereof, transversely over the joint, and between the vertical armsf of the clamp.

The device can be used for constructing any class ofscaffold which may be used for any purpose-as, for instance, plastering, painting, paper-hanging, by masons, &c.and it can be made of different sizes to accommodate uprights, &c., of different measurements.

The device is very simple, strong, and durable in construction, is thoroughly effective in operation, can be manufactured and sold at a minimum of cost, can be very quickly applied and removed from the uprights, and

provides convenient and secure means for coupling the meeting ends of two posts together.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A clamping-bracket made in two detach- 5o ably-secured sections, each of which comprises an upright arm, a horizontal clamping-arm at each end thereof, and having branch arms bolted together, the upper horizontal arms of the sections having right-angled bar-supporting arms, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the upright sections, a plate, I, fitted over the joint thereof, a clamp inclosing the sections and plate, and a wedge inserted between the sections and clamp over thejoint between the former and on the opposite face thereof, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the upright sections, aplate, I, fitted over the joint thereof, a sectional clamp arranged over the plate and upright sections, and having an angular bracketarm, and a wedge inserted transversely of the joint of the upright sections and between the same and clamp, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the upright, a clamping-bracket made in two detachably-connected sections, each of which comprises a vertical arm, two horizontal clamping-arms, and a barsupporting arm, and a wedge inserted between the vertical arms of the bracketsections, and the upright, substantially as described.

5. A clamping-bracket for scaffolds, made in two detachably-bolted sections, each section being formed from a single piece of metal and comprising armsf, g, 71, i, j, and '70, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE THOR-N.

\Vitnesses:

JAMES W. THOMAS, FRANK IlICOARTLY. 

